


The Best Band Bonding Happens at 3 am

by HesitantlyHipsterAlien



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV), Julie and The Phantoms (TV) RPF
Genre: Alex's parents were bad people, Archive warnings bc the boys are dead, Coming Out, F/F, Flynn and Julie are a couple AU, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Julie wants to hug them but cant, Luke supporting his friends, Ray Molina is a good parent, Reggie and Alex are anxious, Reggie's dad was a bad person, Set the night after the 'Finally Free' performance, These boys need hugs, and because of alex's parents and reggie's parents, brief mentions of domestic violence, brief mentions of homophobia, i feel like this is way too many tags, its not super described but id rather the warning be there, kinda sad at points but the ending is happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27851690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HesitantlyHipsterAlien/pseuds/HesitantlyHipsterAlien
Summary: In which Julie getting in trouble scared the boys more than expected; Julie is smart as hell and able to put together a lot; and, as the title says, the best time to bond as a band is at 3 am while your family sleeps
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Flynn/Julie Molina
Comments: 9
Kudos: 217





	1. Chapter 1

“So he was cool with it?” Flynn asks, her tone a mix of relief and excitement. Julie smiles, flopping down onto her bed, having retreated into her favorite PJs. 

“Yeah, dad was actually super excited I’m playing music again!” 

“Could have fooled me,” Flynn says, her voice bouncing a little as she flops down onto her own bed. “I never knew Ray could look angry. I thought Julie and the Phantoms was toast! I saw my brief managing career go up in flames, Jules!”

Flynn’s dramatics only draw a giggle from Julie, who’s gaze has trailed to the garage out her bedroom window. Then, as if only realizing it was said:

“Wait, you’re the manager now? I thought you were our marketing team?”

“Maybe I got promoted.” Flynn retorts. Julie feels a smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

“I don’t know… I was kind of holding the manager position for my girlfriend. She’s this super talented DJ who’s always ready to defend me and she’s just…” Now it's Julie’s turn to be dramatic. “She’s so amazing. She even stayed up all night and drank seven sodas once when she thought I’d given up my dream.”

“Ugh, well I cannot compete with that,” Flynn huffs. “Fineeee, your girlfriend can be the manager.”

This breaks them both into giggles.

. . .

“....her light’s still on.”

Alex’s voice has that soft, strained quality it gets when he’s worrying but doesn’t want to admit he’s worrying. He stands by the garage doors, having wandered there at some point after they’d returned, his blue eyes locking on Julie’s window. Reggie frowns, wandering over, one hand wrapping around Alex’s elbow.

“Shit….you guys think we fucked up? Ray seemed- he looked really- I mean, he doesn’t normally get like that, f-from what I’ve seen, I-” Reggie fumbles his words, his gaze flicking from Alex to Luke. Luke, who’d been struck once again with song lyrics and had been scribbling them down in his journal, glances to the clock Julie brought in for them, seeing it denote the time as almost three a.m., and sighs.

He’s worried too. Of course he is. His own parents weren’t exactly excited the first time he snuck out for a gig. And Julie’s a year younger than he was. So that might be worse, considering? But he hadn’t wanted to mention it because while his parents were unsupportive, they were still good parents. And in his book, Ray Molina seems like a good parent too. So he’s maybe less worried.

Still, he knows both Reggie and Alex have very good reasons to react like this. And it's bad enough when one of them gets that anxious, kicked puppy look on their face. Both of them, though, is literal torture.

Sighing again, Luke stands. “Alright, lets go.”

“Hmm?” Reggie’s brow quirks up. He’s resorted to chewing on his necklace pendant again, probably out of some sort of fear he was talking too much. 

“Go where?” Alex finally tears his gaze from Julie’s window to look at Luke.

“Let’s go check on her, before you dorks make me anxious too,” Luke replies, setting a hand gently on Reggie’s shoulder. Reggie nods quickly, looking to Alex. Alex blinks a little, then nods too.

. . .

“It's 3 am, I should probably sleep,” Julie says, glancing at her alarm clock. 

“Pfft, laaaame,” Flynn retorts, muffling a yawn. Julie giggles, smiling softly, finger trailing over the pink, yellow, and blue bracelet that hangs from her right wrist. “But yeah...I probably should too. Maddox has no rhythm so I basically have to give him a crash course in Dance class so we don’t flunk.”

“Too bad we had to team up with lacrosse boys,” Julie sighs. “Nick’s cute, but you? Way cuter. And much easier to dance with.”

“Mmn. Next time, though.” Flynn’s smiling. Julie can hear it in her voice. 

“Next time,” Julie agrees. “Double Trouble will blow the rest of the dance class away.” 

“Awwwww babe,” Flynn gasps. “You’re gonna make me tear up.”

“At least you already washed off your make up for the night,” Julie retorts. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” Flynn replies. There’s a click and Julie grins, hanging up her own phone. It's as she’s rolling over to shut her lamp off when an arm appears in the middle of her bedroom door, knocking very, very softly.


	2. Chapter 2

“Alex?” Julie’s brow furrows as she recognizes the pale pink sleeve. The blonde slowly steps through the closed door, stuffing his hands in his pockets- a move Julie’s starting to learn may be a way to hide when his hands are shaking- followed by Reggie, his eyes seeming bigger and bluer than they usually are. Last but not least is Luke, his arm coming to rest around Reggie’s shoulder. Julie blinks, looking them all over. 

“What’s up?”

“We just wanted to check on you and make sure you’re-”  
“Was Ray really upset? He seemed like, really upset-”  
“Is he gonna make you quit the band? Did we get you-”

“Woah, guys!” Julie raises her hands. “Not all at once. I’m only one girl, I can’t hear what all of you are saying when you talk simultaneously,” She looks to them, studying their faces. 

Alex’s gaze darts between her and different parts of the room. Like he’s counting exits, looking for an escape. Reggie is still. Stiller than she’s ever seen him. Like if he doesn’t move then nothing bad can happen. And Luke looks either ready to pick a fight or bolt. A frown pulls at her lips as she sits back up, motioning them over.

Luke moves first, but not without gently pulling Reggie along. Reggie’s hand catches Alex’s sleeve, and, despite it being such a small gesture, it stirs Alex into moving as well. As they sit around her, Julie speaks.

“Okay… one at a time, what’s going on? You guys look like you’ve seen a ghost. Er- not- I mean-”

“It’s okay,” Luke says softly. “We get what you mean.”

“We were just worried about you. Your dad seemed pretty upset when he found you at the bar…” Alex adds, glancing down as his fingers intertwine with Reggie’s. The raven haired boy nods.

“We saw your light was still on, a-a-and we didn’t want to pry- boundaries, like you said- but…”

“Are you okay?” Luke finishes. 

And then it clicks. 

Julie’s mind trails back to when her and Reggie and Alex were hiding out spying on Luke’s parents earlier in the day. Alex’s words as he’d said: “we know how bad it hurts whenever someone who was supposed to have your back completely lets you down.” In the moment, she’d wondered who he meant.

Their parents.

She’d seen Luke’s parents and heard that story. But, outside of something about his parents home now being a bike shack, Reggie hadn’t mentioned his family. And Alex hadn’t mentioned his even once.

Frowning, Julie shifts to let her blanketed knee rest in the space next to Reggie’s, looking between the three boys. 

“My dad was worried, more than anything,” She begins, her tone assuring. “And he wanted to know why I hadn’t mentioned you guys sooner. And then he apologized for making me look bad in front of that businesswoman-”

“She was an agent, I think,” Luke offers helpfully. Julie nods.

“Still. He wasn’t that mad. And he’s not making me quit the band. He says school comes first. And he wants to meet you guys at some point, which… we’ll figure out somehow. But, I’m okay.”

Alex and Reggie both seem to release a breath they’d been holding. Luke smiles, looking relieved.

“I knew your dad was cool,” He beams. Julie smiles back. However, her gaze quickly returns to the other two. Reggie is still so much more motionless than she’s used to him being. And Alex glances between her and the bedroom door warily, jumping a little whenever someone speaks.

“Okay, now it's my turn,” Julie says, softening her voice and feeling a small victory when Alex doesn’t startle at the sound. “Are you guys okay? Luke seems mostly like himself, but you two are acting weird.”

“Oh- it's not- you don’t have to worry about us, Jules,” Reggie offers. Alex nods.

“Yeah, it's all good. Totally good. We were just worried. You should sleep, it's early and-”

“And I’m only going to spend the rest of the night worrying if you guys don’t talk to me,” Julie interjects gently. Alex opens his mouth to argue, then closes it. Luke glances to the pair, reaching to carefully squeeze Alex’s shoulder. Alex looks to Reggie, who looks back to him and nods.

“Okay… I’ll go first.”


	3. Chapter 3

Julie shifts to sit a little more comfortably, giving the boys space to do the same as they’ve all remarked on different occasions that passing through her or other people feels a little weird. Luke returns his arm to it's place around Reggie’s shoulders, though this time, the tips of his fingers trace little patterns on Alex’s shoulder. Alex still has his hand in Reggie’s and leans against him as he begins to speak.

“My parents, they kinda fought. A lot.” Reggie starts, his gaze focused somewhere just over Julie’s right shoulder. “Or… more correctly. Dad fought. And mom just k-kinda shut down and let him yell. Sometimes it was like she wasn’t there at all. Like, she was there physically, but… he’d throw things or he’d start yelling while he stood right next to her and she wouldn’t even flinch.”

Julie feels her eyes prickling as she reaches for Reggie’s free hand instinctively, only to mentally curse when reminded, once again, that she can’t touch them. If any of the boys notice, they don’t say anything, Luke and Alex remaining silent as Reggie continues.

“I used to th-think it was normal, y'know? My dad always being so angry and loud. He never hit me. Never hit my mom. S-s-so I thought that the rest of it was just how dads were. Of course, then one night, we were all at Luke’s house, playing basketball by the garage when one of us- me, I think- missed the hoop and the ball hit one of the windows hard enough to break it. And I waited for it. Waited for Mitch- Luke’s dad- to start shouting at all of us. But… he didn’t. He just grabbed a broom and a dustpan and had us sweep up the glass, then he showed us how to cover the hole properly until someone could come and replace it. And then we went in for dinner. That was it. No damage except the window.”

Alex squeezes Reggie’s hand, his eyes closed as Reggie’s story continues. Luke runs his free hand over Reggie’s free arm, a comforting motion. Julie is too wrapped up in Reggie’s tale to speak.

“So I figured maybe Luke’s dad was just like a chiller than normal dad,” Reggie continues. “Mitch seemed like he could be one of those more laid back dads. But still, we’d broken a window and he hadn’t yelled at us once. And th-that was weird to me. So I… started asking people about their dads. Told them I was asking for a friend.”

“Oh, Reggie…” Julie breathes. In her mind, she can almost see it. Reggie, his face maybe a little rounder with youth, eyes a little bigger, wandering up to classmates and chatting with them about their families. She can picture him, his brow furrowing as he begins to put together that maybe things at home weren’t as normal as he thought.

Reggie nods. “Yeah that… it wasn’t a mistake, really? But like… learning the truth somehow felt worse instead of better, if that makes sense.” 

Sighing shakily, Reggie leans into Alex as he moves on to the next part, his voice growing a little tighter as his own eyes begin to well with tears.

“...I asked my mom about it, one day. Dad was at work and it was just us at the house. She was doing the dishes and I asked her why dad always seemed so mad about everything. Asked if it was my fault,” He swallows hard, sniffling. “I’d never seen my mom cry before that day. I-I was fourteen so maybe I should have known better but, I just-”

He shrugs, a motion so full of defeat it causes something in Julie’s chest to constrict. 

“...that night was the first night she started yelling back. And every night they fought since it, they seemed to get closer and closer to splitting up altogether. All because of me.”

“Reggie, no!” Julie can’t help the urgency in her tone. “You were barely older than Carlos. Your parents fighting wasn’t your fault.”

Reggie looks to her, a tear rolling down his cheek as he replies. 

“My dad sure seemed to think it was. He started yelling at me a lot more. For anything and everything. Over the next two years, I got yelled at for ‘turning my textbook pages with an attitude’, ‘breathing sarcastically’, ‘being too obedient’,’being disobedient’, and a whole bunch of stuff I lost track of after a while. My dad was always finding new reasons to be mad at me.”

He sniffles again, and again, Julie instinctively reaches for his free hand, only to sigh when her hand slides right through his like he’s nothing but slightly cooler than room temperature air. Reggie gives her a soft, half smile, clearing his throat.

“I guess I just got worried when Ray caught you tonight. Worried that he was like my dad. But… he’s not. He seems more like Luke’s dad. Like a good dad.”

Julie smiles slightly at that. “He is…. Thank you for telling me all of this, Reggie…”

Reggie nods, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. “Thank you for asking me too. It… it actually feels kinda good to talk about it… just like, get it out in the open so that it's not bouncing around in my head, yknow?”

Julie nods back. “If you ever feel that way about anything else, you’re always welcome to come and talk to me.” 

Reggie nods, seeming to have run out of words. Alex finally lifts his head from Reggie’s shoulder, looking to the clock once more before he speaks. 

“Are you sure you're okay to keep talking? It's already three-thirty, Jules….”

Julie nods again. “As long as you’re okay to tell it, I want to hear it. You looked really freaked out when you guys showed up here. Like after we performed together for the first time but times ten.”

Alex exhales shakily, then nods.

“Okay…”


	4. Chapter 4

Alex swallows hard. He’s trembling, Julie notices. Luke seems to as well, as he gently shifts from Reggie’s side to sit on the other side of Alex, hugging him. Reggie scoots over a little so this time Alex is in the middle of the trio sitting across from Julie on her bed. Raking his bangs out of his eyes, Alex exhales, finally speaking.

“...Okay… um… fuck, I forgot how hard this part was the first two times around,” Alex begins, closing his eyes a moment. When he reopens them, his gaze meets Julie’s for the first time since the three of them appeared in her room. “I’m gay.”

Julie blinks, a little taken aback. Then, figuring it to be the only logical response, she replies: “Flynn and I are dating. We have been for almost two years now.”

Alex’s eyes widen slightly. Luke glances up, brow slightly furrowed.

“...did you not tell us because you thought we’d be homophobic? Or did it just not come up?”

Julie sighs. It's a fair question. 

“I wasn’t sure at first, if you guys would be cool with it or not,” Julie explains. “I mean, you were teenagers in the 90s, and while things aren’t exactly perfect now for the community, they’re a hell of a lot better than they were back then. But the longer we’ve known each other- the more I’ve seen you guys and how comfortable you are with getting in each other’s space- the less I’ve been worried you would be. It just hadn’t really come up yet. But, I figured knowing might make Alex look a little less… what was it you said before we performed the first time? ‘Yack-in-a-bowl nervous?”

Alex’s lips quirk slightly into a smile. “Yeah… I… guess I was a little worried things were still like the 90s. The day I came out to these guys- and Bobby- I was so nervous I did throw up. Twice. But… they all accepted me. My parents, though…”

Julie can feel her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. Still, she waits, letting him continue at his own pace, as she did with Reggie.

“Right. Okay, so… my parents were what people in the 90s considered to be a little ‘old fashioned’. My dad was a firm believer in ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’ and… wooden spoons in my house were usually used for punishment, not cooking. And my mom, she believed that my dad was the man of the house, so whatever he said was law. No matter what, even if she’d had a different opinion about something just minutes before, if my dad said it was bad, she condemned it just as firmly as he did,” Alex is shaking again. Luke rests his head on the blonde’s shoulder, a small frown pulling at his lips. Julie manages to keep her hands in her lap this time around, still faintly embarrassed and saddened by her earlier attempt to hold Reggie’s hand.

“I guess I just hoped if my mom had my side, maybe she could help convince my dad, y'know? I couldn’t bring my siblings into it, in case it did go badly. Abigail was twelve at the time and Adam was only nine, and I couldn’t risk-” Alex pauses, clearing his throat, eyes glassing over. “I couldn’t risk putting them on the receiving end of my dad’s anger.”

Julie nods, frowning deeper. She hadn’t even considered that any of the guys could have had siblings, but out of all of them, it did make the most sense that Alex was the one who had them. He was caring and responsible, both ‘very typical older brother things’, according to one of her and Flynn’s conversations. 

“Anyway, I’d… already come out to the band at this point. I waited until Friday, when my dad’s work week would be over, and he’d be more relaxed as his weekend was coming up, but I still wanted to tell my mom first. I was helping my mom out with the dishes after dinner, and I just sort of mentioned it. Like just casually ‘I think I like boys the way other boys like girls’. And for the next ten seconds, I thought she was going to be cool with it. She even smiled at me. But just as she opened her mouth to respond, my dad spoke up from where he’d apparently been standing in the doorway between our kitchen and the living room. ‘What the fuck did you just say, boy?’, he’d asked- it threw me off because he’d never, ever sworn in front of me before, even the times when I was in big enough trouble that the wooden spoon was replaced by a leather belt- and..”

Alex’s voice cracks and Julie’s chest tightens. She’s crying, now. Reggie is too, his face buried against Alex’s arm. Luke is silent. Alex sniffles, continuing. 

“It… gets a little blurry after that. I remember him yelling. And my mom yelling with him. Both at me. And I remember getting shoved backwards, my head hitting the wall hard enough to leave a dent. And then I went up to my room, grabbed my stuff- my drums, thankfully, lived in Bobby’s garage at this point- and I left.”

Clearing his throat again, Alex closes his eyes, releasing a shuddering breath. 

“I never went home again, after that night. I ended up spending most of my time at Bobby’s, since his house was where we all rehearsed anyway. But…” He brings a shaking hand to his face, wiping his eyes. “...the tone your dad used… it… it reminded me of my dad. The kind of quietly angry way he said ‘it's time to go home’ it just- it felt- I- fuck.”

The last word is less spoken and more sobbed and Julie sobs with him. Reggie murmurs a few things, apologetic and comforting. But Luke is the one who finally brings the group back. His hand ghosts across where one of Julie’s now rests with a death grip on the comforter, a sensation she swears she can almost feel.

“...we know your dad is a good person, Jules. But…” He pauses, seeming to search for the right words. Reggie seems to find them.

“My dad wasn’t a good person. Neither was Alex’s. And, I guess we just…”

“We thought we got you in a lot of trouble tonight,” Alex finishes, his hand joining Luke’s in it's presence somewhere just adjacent of being a touch Julie can feel. “And… it brought back a lot of stuff we hadn’t thought about in a while…”

Julie looks to them, wiping her eyes. After a moment, she speaks, her own voice now a little hoarse with emotion.

“I’m really sorry I had you guys this worried. But, I promise you: my dad has never, ever laid a hand on me or Carlos. We may get scolded verbally sometimes but he has never once hurt us. From now on, though,” she points to the unlit candle sitting in her window. “I never light that candle. My Tia got it for me and it reeks of lavender in like, headache causing quantities. But, if there is ever, ever a time, where I think I’m in that kind of trouble, I’ll light it to alert you guys. Otherwise, if the candle isn’t lit, I’m okay. Okay?”

“...lets hope that candle never gets lit. I can’t stand lavender,” Reggie replies, his own hand joining the pile. For the briefest, briefest moment, Julie swears she can feel them. Feel the calluses on Luke’s finger tips, the cool metal of Alex’s rings, and the brush of Reggie’s knuckles against her own. Julie laughs at Reggie’s statement. Which in turn, makes Reggie laugh. Which then causes Luke and Alex to laugh too.

The guys return to the garage, and, despite being ready to quit the band the day before, Julie sinks into bed feeling closer to the boys than she’d been before the conversation.


End file.
